Supercharger and towing

[Saskwatch]

I’m considering adding a blower to the truck. It’s a 2015 8sp with 3.21s on 34s. The majority of my towing is with an enclosed snowmobile trailer (1650 lbs unloaded + 2 sleds, gear, fuel etc). I don’t want to create a giant heat pump and heat soak the engine to death in the process of adding boost. My instinct says stay away from the roots and twin screw style and head right to a centrifugal supercharger since it’ll arguably build less heat and it won’t be as punishing on the engine internals and transmission as a whipple etc.

I’d love to hear some insight on which blower you all feel is better suited for towing.

 

[savage_46]

Not sure about heat soak. But I say do it, you'll be able to tow faster.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Scrap the 3.21s for a set of 3.92s.

Just food for thought. Gear change in the rears is your biggest, cheapest torque multiplier.

Go to 3.92s and THEN put a blower on it. [emoji2]

 

[crash68]

Scrap the 3.21s for a set of 3.92s.

Just food for thought. Gear change in the rears is your biggest, cheapest torque multiplier.

Go to 3.92s and THEN put a blower on it.

^^^ I second this
Swapping gears will really wake the truck up towing wise.

 

[Saskwatch]

The truck is 4wd so a gear swap is unlikely

 

[RainDesert]

I agree with most, and I would for sure opt for a gear swap first. Plus you are already running some taller 34" tires. Going to the lower gears will greatly improve your towing experience, increase your leverage to the ground and actually take strain off the powertrain rather than potentially adding some with a blower. Having gears done on a 4wd is still much less expensive vs a blower kit.

 

[Pull Ya]

Check with "Tach tech" or "Matt at Moe's Performance", both of them have Whipple's on their trucks. I don't know if they do any towing--I am positive Matt doesn't as his truck is mostly for racing, but he knows a lot about superchargers. Either one of them would be able to give you some good information.
Jay

 

[RLJ10X]

Go 4.10.

I'd swap the truck before I put up with 3.21s. I don't care how many gears the transmission has.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Go 4.10.

I'd swap the truck before I put up with 3.21s. I don't care how many gears the transmission has.

Can't put 4.10s in OP's 1500 truck. 3.92 is the limit.

You gotta have an HD to get 4.10s. That's what convinced me to go to a 2500 this time. I had an '09 SLT 1500 with 3.92s prior to this. I have 4.10s and I want to actually go to 5.13s when I buy a TT. My 2500's 6th gear is 0.625:1. Never use 6th unless I'm on an interstate. Gear sets are available up to 5.13s for 2500s & 3500s.

 

[RLJ10X]

Gears are where it's at, isn't it, Road!

When they build a better Ram 1500 than I already have, I'll buy it.

 

[blackbetty14]

Don’t gear it. Anything boosted will want taller gears (lower number) once boost is applied the tq manipulation from the gears will not be fun. Basically you’ll break the tires loose easily and that is dangerous. You want to be less than 3.55... 3.21 is good. I say boost it and leave the gears alone. Honestly if you do gears and then supercharge you would prob have to drop the gears back down.

Also you can get a centri for less than 3k compared to a PD blower. PD blowers make gobs of tq right off idle but create a lot of heat.

 

[Wild one]

Don’t gear it. Anything boosted will want taller gears (lower number) once boost is applied the tq manipulation from the gears will not be fun. Basically you’ll break the tires loose easily and that is dangerous. You want to be less than 3.55... 3.21 is good. I say boost it and leave the gears alone. Honestly if you do gears and then supercharge you would prob have to drop the gears back down.

Also you can get a centri for less than 3k compared to a PD blower. PD blowers make gobs of tq right off idle but create a lot of heat.

He's Canadian,you're not putting any blower on in Canada for much less then $10,000 Canuck,unless you find a used one.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Don’t gear it. Anything boosted will want taller gears (lower number) once boost is applied the tq manipulation from the gears will not be fun. Basically you’ll break the tires loose easily and that is dangerous. You want to be less than 3.55... 3.21 is good. I say boost it and leave the gears alone. Honestly if you do gears and then supercharge you would prob have to drop the gears back down.

Also you can get a centri for less than 3k compared to a PD blower. PD blowers make gobs of tq right off idle but create a lot of heat.

When I said gear it and add a blower, I was just kidding. If he goes with 3.92s, he wont have to add a $ 8k blower.

I been gearing stuff down since I was 14. I'm 60 now, it still works and I'm still doing it.

My 1st 100cc dirt bike had a 46 tooth back sprocket originally. I swapped it for a 72 tooth and went down 2 teeth on the front! Didn't have much top end but, you could sit on it and kick it into gear with no clutch. It'd just throw a little dirt up in the air and walk away. Great stump puller.

That works on towing trucks too. I do not tow at 85 mph. Therefore, I have no use for gearing that lets me do that, but struggles on an incline cause it's geared too tall. My TT is my new stump and I just wanna walk it up & out of wherever it might be.

 

[Marine Les]

For about $2k a gear change would cost less than changing trucks or adding a blower and adding a blower puts more strain on all reciprocating parts that are not designed for the added pressure a blower creates. 3.92s would make a big difference in usable torque needed for towing although not as cool as having a supercharged Hemi.

 

[Pull Ya]

And if you don't set the gears up right you might get enough of a whine to imitate the whine of a blower---LOL
Jay

 

[Tach_tech]

I’ve got 3.92s and a whipple and it’s not danergous by any means. Only time it will get loose is off the line or if the road isn’t dry. A lot can be done with a tune to make sure power delivered smooth and not abruptly.

 

[blackbetty14]

He's Canadian,you're not putting any blower on in Canada for much less then $10,000 Canuck,unless you find a used one.

Meh! Lol. 3k blower from tq storm for 5.7 Hemi, even have a kit for rams up to 14. A tune and he’s scooting... sounds like 4K plus the 30% Canuck tax so maybe $5200! He could turbo for a lot less but at least on the new trucks the tune is so expensive bc they have to send u a new pcm.

 

[blackbetty14]

When I said gear it and add a blower, I was just kidding. If he goes with 3.92s, he wont have to add a $ 8k blower.

I been gearing stuff down since I was 14. I'm 60 now, it still works and I'm still doing it.

My 1st 100cc dirt bike had a 46 tooth back sprocket originally. I swapped it for a 72 tooth and went down 2 teeth on the front! Didn't have much top end but, you could sit on it and kick it into gear with no clutch. It'd just throw a little dirt up in the air and walk away. Great stump puller.

That works on towing trucks too. I do not tow at 85 mph. Therefore, I have no use for gearing that lets me do that, but struggles on an incline cause it's geared too tall. My TT is my new stump and I just wanna walk it up & out of wherever it might be.

Just saying he could blower it and keep some decent fuel economy without crawling on the highway. Blowers are cheap now... it’s not voodoo anymore and companies like tq storm and vortec have street blowers for under or around 3k. All he needs is a tune, premium gas a shot of water/**** or some form of inter cooling. 6-8psi would net some very healthy gains like 40-50% power increase which puts the Hemi at close to 600hp. Out of boost he could cruise at 75-80mph and knock down 20mpg and rev it to 2000-2500 and be in boost roasting the tires. Sounds like a win win.

 

[Wild one]

Meh! Lol. 3k blower from tq storm for 5.7 Hemi, even have a kit for rams up to 14. A tune and he’s scooting... sounds like 4K plus the 30% Canuck tax so maybe $5200! He could turbo for a lot less but at least on the new trucks the tune is so expensive bc they have to send u a new pcm.

Border /duty fee's/tax/shipping will double 4K pretty fast. Torque Storms basic kit doesn't include a intercooler or injectors etc.,last time I was looking into them.I was quoted $15,000 for a Whipple installed on my 14.If you're going to do any towing at all with a supercharger,you're going to want a decent sized intercooler,plus water/****

 

[blackbetty14]

I’ve got 3.92s and a whipple and it’s not danergous by any means. Only time it will get loose is off the line or if the road isn’t dry. A lot can be done with a tune to make sure power delivered smooth and not abruptly.

U sir have restraint. Most people don’t know how to drive and it can get ugly real quick in a 5500lb truck with a light ass end. So if it rains u gotta baby it, gassing out of the turns u gotta baby it, off the line gotta baby it lol sounds like u do everything to make it not dangerous! I personally would drive the **** out of it bc boost is life!